I e-mailed two lab heads to ask if they would host me for a sabbatical. One was a good acquaintance and the other was a cold e-mail. I carefully crafted my introduction and included my CV, and crossed my fingers. Nothing. for a few weeks. The cold e-mail I can understand, but the close acquaintance? *sharp inhale*. This was a little ego- bruising. I re-emailed them both after two weeks to check up and heard back from the acquaintance (wait and see), but not the other. I will broaden my search.
I saw a friend today and chatted with her about the situation. There's no reason for the ego to be bruised in this situation, but if there was an excuse it was is because my rejection resiliency has softened. This is probably due to three things:
1. I got married and have established friends. The level of rejection in my personal life has gone down to nearly nil. I may not be 100% satisfied with my social situation, but I'm not being rejected.
2. I got tenure. I did my best, both at work and at the dossier. I got it, and now I have a job for life. No more rejection in this way.
3. I haven't sent in a manuscript in several years for review. This is bad, of course, and means I am out of practice of having a tough skin. I'm writing a manuscript now, so I'd better build it back up.
Rejection is what I hate most about academia. It is the sort of thing you need to get used to. Sorry that the sabbatical request didn't work out, but I'm sure you'll find something!
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